


For the Team: MakoHaru Minis

by ElfMaidenOfLight



Category: Free!
Genre: Comfort, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 00:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21045464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfMaidenOfLight/pseuds/ElfMaidenOfLight
Summary: A small collection of micro stories I'm moving over from Tumblr. Originally written 2013-2014.Included are the following drabbles:1. Birthday Gift2. Are We a Team?3. New Contact4. A Different Kind of Love5. Ticklish6. Trespassing7. Promise





	1. Birthday Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anon, “C-Can I request a MakoHaru where Makoto can’t decide on what to get Haruka for his birthday? P-please?”

Makoto watched Haruka from across the table. They were both at Haru’s house, trying to study. It was easier there then the alternative; Ren and Ran could be quite boisterous, and they had a pretty big exam coming up.

Still, even with the twins away, Makoto was finding it hard to keep his head in his books, and kept glancing up at his friend.

Eventually, like Makoto knew he would, Haru caught on to the feeling of being watched. The other boy’s head tilted up, pencil stilling.

“What?”

Makoto looked over the rim of his glasses and smiled, like he was keeping a secret. “You’re birthday’s next week, isn’t it? Haru-chan?” Like either of them could forget. It was just that, sometimes, Makoto thought he was more excited about it then Haru was.

Haruka frowned at the honorific, but made a noise of agreement anyway, eyes falling back down to the table.

“Have you thought about what you want to do?” Makoto prompted further.

“Not really,” Haru murmured, refocusing on the text before him, scribbling something down.

Makoto sighed audibly, looking up towards the ceiling, twirling his pencil.

He’d have to get Haru something. But what? Haru wasn’t the type for trinkets— keychains and all that— like Nagisa would be. He didn’t have a fascination for books, like Rei.

Maybe another swimsuit?

Makoto’s eyebrows jumped as he stole another glance at his best friend, who didn’t look up.

But no, Haru was so particular about his suits and all that. He’d probably just return what Makoto would get him and exchange it for something else.

Sketchbooks? Haru had plenty.

Maybe… mackerel?

Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle.

Haru let out an almost annoyed breath through his nose, eyes flickering up. “What is it?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…”

Haru frowned, and with that look, Makoto knew he was on to him. He could see it in his face.

Oh well, let him guess. It was more fun that way.

But now that he thought about it, maybe he really didn’t need to get Haru anything. Maybe he could take Haru somewhere special. Somewhere he liked. Besides, if anyone were to ask him, Makoto would always say that time spent with those you care about far outweighed any store-bought gift.

And he did care about Haru.

Now, where could they go?

The beach? Aquarium?

But Haru had been there plenty of times before. Wouldn’t it be boring?

“Oiy, Makoto.”

He was quickly pulled out of his daydream, eyes falling to catch Haruka’s gaze. The corner of Makoto’s mouth quirked up. The other boy was still frowning, looking serious, but the flush to his cheeks betrayed what he was really feeling.

“Eh?” Makoto had to suppress a low noise of amusement. “What is it Haru?”

The boy looked away with an unhappy pout. “If you don’t study you’ll do poorly on the test.”

Makoto relented, shoulders slouching. “Ah, I guess your right. I’ll try and focus.” But just as he picked up his workbook again, Haru spoke in a low, rushed voice.

“You shouldn’t be thinking about what to buy me for my birthday.”

“Huh?” Makoto sat up a bit straighter. He didn’t know why he felt so… warm at being caught. Of course Haru knew what he was thinking. Still… “Why not?”

Haru tilted his head down to his work even farther, and Makoto could see that his ears were red now, too. “…spending time with friends is a much better gift.”

A happy, fuzzy feeling settled into Makoto’s chest as he smiled contently. “You’re right Haru, of course.”


	2. Are We A Team?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anon, ‘Can you write something with this idea? Haru is tired of waiting, “Makoto, why am I not your boyfriend yet?”

Mackerel sizzled in the pan.

Haru watched the skin of the fish begin to brown, just a slight golden hue, and realized that once again, Makoto was standing just a bit too close, watching over his shoulder.

If he’d been surprised, at all, his body would have stiffened; his lips would have parted with a faint sound of surprise. And then Makoto would notice, realize his mistake, take a step back– that’s how well the other boy could read him.

But… Haru wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t been for a very long time.

It never bothered him, not really. It was confusing at first, trying to understand why Makoto put up with all his odd habits, shared his food, generally doted on him, and… well, the physical nature of their relationship. All those smiles.

Just putting it into words made heat rush through Haru’s stomach.

It was love his friend felt… and it all clicked into place. A while ago, too.

Then, that must have been what he felt too, because what else could it be? Being with Makoto felt as natural and as easy as water. And Haru did very much love water.

For a long while he’d been content with it, to let them carry on in this un-named duality, but over the course of the year Haru had realized it wasn’t fair. To both of them. To Makoto especially. And now… something else stirred in Haru stomach when he shared Makoto’s food, or was doted on… or was touched.

They were a team, in a way. Like the swim team, but different. They had to dive in and cut their own path. He wanted to be with Makoto, for as long as he could.

And yet, even after their talk before the Final, nothing had changed.

His hand tensed around the spatula.

“Ah, it looks good, Haru,” Makoto said, taking a step away, giving him space, realizing he’d intruded into Haru’s bubble.

But Haru didn’t mind at all.

“Makoto?” He said seriously, staring very hard at the mackerel.

“Ah, yes? Haru?”

“We’re a… team, aren’t we?”

There was a questioning moment of silence before Haru could hear Makoto’s beaming smile. “Of course we are.”

“The two of us?”

“Of cour– huh?” And then, quieter, a hushed whisper, “Haru, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean we’re together. Like a… couple. Like you’re my—” He didn’t turn around. He wouldn’t turn around, and he couldn’t finish. Makoto was silent, watching his back. Haru’s face felt so, so red.

The fish was done.

Removing the food from the burner, Haru plated it slowly and deliberately, taking extra time in order to muster up enough courage. Because he wanted Makoto to know. He wanted it to be the two of them, for as long as they could.

Makoto hadn’t said a word, and when Haru turned, he was surprised to see the other boy looking sorry for himself.

“It was that obvious, huh?”

“I know you too well,” Haru murmured, eyes cutting away. After a long pause, he continued, “Well?“ His fists clenched. "Are we?”

“Are we…?”

Haru let out a breath through his nose. “Are we together? Like a couple?”

Finally, he caught the other boy’s gaze—

Because I want to be—

In a barely-there whisper, Makoto breathed out, “Haruka…” like it was all a dream, and Haru felt chills go skittering down his spine. Wide green eyes softened, becoming glassy.

Haru’s mouth dropped open; he took a step forward, his hand slightly raised in alarm. “Makoto?”

“S-Sorry Haru,” the boy sniffed, wiping at his eyes, “I’m just—”

Haru grabbed his wrists, lowering them, and ducked his head to look up into Makoto’s face, a small smile quirking his lips upward.

“Makoto, you’re being silly.”

“Eh?” The taller boy laughed.

“It’s just the same as before. Except… you don’t have to worry about hiding it or…standing too close…”

“Are you sure? Haru?”

He tipped up onto his toes, breath ghosting over Makoto’s cheek; his lips.

“I’m sure.”


	3. New Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: sachi-pon, “You should write one about Mako teaching Haru to use a cell phone!!

Two small boxes sat empty and upended on the table; crinkled packaging material had been stripped away in bits and lay strewn upon the flat surface.

Haruka looked down at the new phone in his hands. It smelled like plastic. But it was blue, a nice color, he thought. It suited him. Makoto had said so, anyway.

Makoto, who was sitting at the adjacent side of the table, looking excitedly down at his own mobile. Green. Reflected in his reading glasses, Haru could see him scrolling through the menu, adding friends’ and families’ numbers to the list.

Depressing the button on his own phone, a rather dull background image came up, flashing the time and date as well as the cell company’s logo.

Haru pressed .

His blue eyes cut over to his friend and back again.

He really only needed one number.

What about his parents?

Okay, two numbers.

Makoto’s fingers whizzed over the small keyboard, a line of concentration pulling at his brow.

Craning his neck, Haru could see the corner of a small standard-issue user’s manual peeking out from under one of the boxes.

He could read it…

“Too much effort…” he murmured.

Makoto’s eyebrows jumped, but he didn’t look away from the screen as he said, “What was that? Haru-chan?”

A muscle over Haru’s eye twitched. He tilted his chin up, eyes closed, face turned away like a petulant child as he exclaimed, “I need your number.” And I don’t know how to do it.

He heard the other boy issue a soft chuckle. Heat flared up Haru’s neck.

“Would you like me to help you?”

Haru nodded curtly, hearing Makoto scoot just a little bit closer, plucking the phone from his fingers.

“Well,” the other boy asked, placing his own phone in his lap so he could better hold Haruka’s, “which numbers do you want?” Green eyes trailed up from the screen with a questioning glint.

Haru blinked, once. After a moment, he answered with quiet terseness, “Makoto’s.”

“Ah, of course.” Makoto gave him a little teasing smile, one side of his lips quirked up higher than the other.

Haru frowned.

He did that on purpose. Made Haru say it.

“You’ll need your parent’s numbers as well, right?”

Haru let out a heavy breath through his nose and tilted his chin back down, watching as Makoto bit on his bottom lip in concentration as he typed.

Shut up, Haru wanted to say, even if his friend wasn’t saying a thing.

After a few moments of waiting, Makoto nodded as if he were satisfied with something, and handed the new phone back to is owner.

“All done!”

“Thanks…” Haru looked down at the screen and made a noise of surprise in the back of his throat. The dull logo had been replaced with a small, slightly pixel-y scene of the ocean.

“Oh, and there were some background pre-loaded,” he heard Makoto say over his head. “Like from the manufacturer. Is that one okay?”

His ears felt hot.

“It’s fine.”

“Ah,” Makoto exclaimed, picking up his own cell once more. “I can add your number too, right Haru?”

He nodded, still staring at the phone in his hand.

“Mmm,” the other boy mused, and Haru could hear keys being clicked. “Number? Right, right. Name? Let’s see. Na-nah-say. Hah-ru-kah.”

Haru swallowed thickly. Whenever Makoto said his name like that, his full name like that, the first part always sounded like a contended little sigh. Hah-ru-ka. It was embarrassing. He glanced up, trying to give off a serious, peeved expression, but the easy-going tilt of his friend’s shoulders and that carefree look on his face– Haru’s anger deflated instantly.

Makoto stared back with bright eyes as Haru’s phone buzzed in his hand. Taken by surprise, Haru had nearly dropped it. He recovered enough to bring up the text.

<1 new message>

Tachibana Makoto:

U・ω・U

Makoto leaned over. “Did it work? I sent a test one.”

Haruka blinked down at the emoji. Something jumped into his throat. His heart? No, that was silly…

“…Yeah. It worked.”

“Perfect! All right, well,” Makoto let out a sigh as he got to his feet, reaching over for his book bag on the floor, “my mom wants me to get home and show her what we bought. Did you want to come over later? For dinner?”

Haru made a small noise of agreement but avoided his friend’s gaze. Walking Makoto out to the front entrance hall, he waved a limp goodbye, trying to distance himself from the fuzzy feeling that had settled into him like too-hot water.

But after the other boy had said his final goodbye, walking out of sight around the corner, the fuzzy feeling faded and it… it was replaced by something else. Something even less desirable.

<1 read message>

Makoto Tachibana:

U・ω・U

…

As Makoto dropped his bag onto his bed, sighing good-naturedly, his cellphone buzzed.

<1 new message>

“Huh?”

It was from Haru.

He pressed , blinking back in amused shock, but he couldn’t help the fond smile that suddenly bloomed over his face.

Nanase Haruka:

(´ｪ｀)


	4. A Different Kind of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One lazy afternoon, Haruka decides to finally ask.

Through the open back door, warm air curles into the Nanase household, lapping against Haruka’s back like barely-there waves. The longer he sits, ruminating, the more determined he becomes. All lines of thought have lead him back to the same conclusion. But he has to know, he’s dying to know, if he’s right.

“Makoto.”

From across the table comes a slightly distracted, “Hm?”

“Are we… in love?”

Makoto blinks down at the book in his hand, no longer able to concentrate on the words. He marks his place with a small dog-ear before setting it down. He looks over the table.

After a moment to collect himself, the brunet asks in a surprisingly even and light tone, “Why do you ask? Or…” and Haru can see pink tingeing the other’s cheeks, “what makes you say so?”

Haru has been over this, in his mind. He’d categorized and catalogued in silence. He’s not so aloof, not so dim, that everything has gone by unnoticed. Or that everything is one-sided.

“We share things,” he answers simply, unabashed because it’s all true anyway. “We support one another. We need each other.” 

Makoto’s adams apple bobs. “You mean like a family,” he clarifies, without Haru asking him to.

Haruka frowns.

“Then it’s like Ren and Ran.”

Makoto blinkes. “Eh?”

“You love me like you love Ren and Ran.”

Green eyes flee to the ceiling, as if Makoto’s trying to hide what’s on his face. It doesn’t work. The tilt of his chin reveals a blush creeping up his neck. “I want Ren and Ran to be happy, healthy. I like when they smile, I like when they laugh.” Eventually, Makoto looks down again, catches his gaze, and to Haru his expression mirrors the night of the festival, when Makoto admitted he was excited to swim in a relay… with him. “I like it when you’re happy, when you smile, when you laugh.”

“You want to be with me,” Haru prompts, “by my side.”

Makoto nods in agreement. They both know it’s true. They both know it’s reciprocated. “It’s like you said, we support and need one another. Maybe we do love each other. But…” Haru’s heart pounds up into his throat. “Love is different than being in love, don’t you think?”

Haruka blinks, and unsaid in his gaze is the question, What do you mean?

“Well, Haru, the way my parents love Ren and Ran, it’s different from the way they love each other.” Was it his imagination, or could Haru hear, could he see, what was implied? It’s different from the way I love you. “There’s a physical relationship that’s more intimate.”

“Like kissing.” And other stuff.

An embarrassed smile twists Makoto’s lips. “Like kissing.” And other stuff.

“Sometimes I want to kiss you,” Haru murmurs, barely above a whisper, gaze casting down into his lap. The house is quiet enough that Makoto can hear him.

“…you… do?”

Haru nods, and sees the way Makoto’s hands, which are resting on his knees, are balled into fists. “Sometimes in the morning, before school. Sometimes before I leave to go home at night. Sometimes when I’m happy. Sometimes when I’m sad. Sometimes when you’re happy–”

“Haru…”

“When I cook for you and you eat, even though you aren’t hungry, even if you aren’t in the mood for what I’ve made. Then, too, I want to kiss you.”

Makoto’s pressing his lips together so tightly it must hurt.

“And it’s…” despite the courage he’s tried to gather, this part is still so hard. “It’s not…”

The brunet looks up, green eyes wide. Breathlessly, he asks, “Not what?”

“It’s not like Ren and Ran,” Haru finishes. Makoto’s broad shoulders fall, as if he’s letting out a sigh of relief. “The way I love you. It’s not like how I love Ren and Ran. And… and you feel the same way… don’t you?”

Makoto laughs lightly, taking off his reading glasses as his eyes flutter closed. He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Ah… I… I think so.”

Haruka feels something akin to elation and… indignation? He frowns again, eyes narrowing. “You weren’t going to tell me?”

“Haru, I–” Makoto breaths a soft sigh out his nose. “I was happy just to be with you. It didn’t matter, in the long run, if our love was that of brothers.”

Haruka’s voice is firm. “It matters to me.”

“I know that now.”

Blue eyes watch in disbelief. Like Haru can’t believe his luck. “So… sometimes… you want to kiss me too?”

Makoto nods. “Sometimes.” He blushes. “Lots of times.”

“Now?”

“Haru…”

“Now?”

“… Yes.”

Haru rises to his knees, a hand coming down upon the table to support his body as he leans over towards the other boy. Makoto’s eyes are open, wide, watching with nervous anticipation. They hold each other’s gaze as they both come forward, lips barely grazing together. It sends a pleasurable current down into Haruka’s stomach.

Haru pulls away after a moment, eyebrow raised. How was that?

Makoto’s blushing, but he’s pleased, and his hand has found Haru’s upon the table. “Can we do that again?” he whispers. “Tomorrow? When we meet before school?”

Haruka nods, and then adds, “We can do it again, right now, if you want.”

“Now?”

He gives Makoto a small, rare smile. “Yes.”


	5. Ticklish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto knows exactly where Haruka is ticklish, to everyone’s surprise. Well, except maybe Nagisa.

As soon as they pounce, Rin loses his footing, and all five of them go tumbling back down onto the locker room floor. Behind him, Haru can hear Rin let out an “oof” as the weight of them all knock out his breath, but even so, his lock around Haru’s shoulders’ is tight.

“Let go,” Haru says as firm as he can, but it’s really too late for him now.

He can hear Rin’s devious little snickers of delight in his ear as the others descend. Rei goes for the arch his foot, Nagisa for under his raised arm. Eagerly they try and coax out gasping giggles, but Haruka only screws up his face in discomfort. All this touching is making him uncomfortable, and none of it is ticklish.

That is, until…

Two fingers, slightly crooked, press gently against the skin above his hipbone, raking upwards over his side, alighting over his ribcage.

The touch is electrifying, raising immediate goose bumps. Haruka lets out a surprised gasp of laughter and arches his back up, instinctively trying to get away from the ticklish fingers. Rin’s so surprised that his grip drops, and Haru slides off onto the floor.

Everyone’s dead silent as Haru grips his side, sucking in a breath. He sends a glare in the other four swimmer’s direction, but more importantly, at Makoto, whose two fingers are still outstretched.

“…Mako-chan!” Nagisa breathes, almost reverently, “You did it!”

Rin frowns, annoyance working at his jaw, “Yeah, that was surprisingly easily.”

Sitting back on his knees, Rei adjusts his glasses. “It does seem like Makoto-senpai was the only one who knew where Haruka-senpai was truly ticklish.”

Haru doesn’t say a word, he’s still glaring, and Makoto is caught within his gaze, a flush starting to spread over his surprised face and down his neck. He’s probably picturing the way Haru’s hips snapped up, body taunt like a bow. Now Haruka’s blushing too.

Haru finally looks away, getting to his feet and retrieving his towel, only to find his fingers shaking. Just a little bit. Almost imperceptibly. “Tsk…”

From the floor, Makoto lets out a shaky laugh. “Ah-haa, well, we’ve been friends since forever and use to play as kids so…” He trails off weakly, and as Haru throws a glance over his shoulder, he sees the way Nagisa is giving Makoto a mischievous, inappropriate grin.

“Looks like Haru-chan kind of… liked it.”

Rei gasps like he’s offended. “Nagisa-kun!”

Faintly, Haru can hear Rin murmur to himself, “Implying what exactly…”

Haru starts shoving his things into his swim bag with little to no care, pulling a shirt hastily over his head. Annoyance, embarrassment, and anger are condensing into a tight-throbbing pain in his temple and he hates it.

“People don’t usually enjoy things they have to be held down for,” he snaps, fastening his belt buckle.

As he turns with his bag in hand, he sees how much Nagisa’s good humor has deflated. The boy looks thoroughly ashamed of himself. “Haru-chan…”

Haru doesn’t even look at Makoto as he storms out of the swim club locker room. He can’t, and he’s already around the corner past the school gates, out onto the sidewalk, before he hears, “Haru! Haru, wait!” along with the loud footfalls of a certain someone racing to catch up with him.

Even when Makoto falls into step beside him, he doesn’t look. Haru should be angry with Rin, the instigator, and he is, but he’s angry with Makoto too. Because Makoto knows exactly where to touch, and he knows just how much that kind of stuff makes Haru uncomfortable, especially around other people.

Makoto’s voice is soft, maybe even a little bit sad when he finally says, “I’m really sorry, Haru.”

Haruka debates on drawing out the silent treatment, but he stops walking instead, turning to look at his friend. He doesn’t even have to say anything, his expression is enough, and Makoto seems to wilt even further, shoulders hunching, his gaze falling to his feet.

“I guess I just got caught up in it…”

Haru lets one breath in and out.

“I know.”

“I am sorry.”

“I know,” Haru repeats.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just—”

“Makoto.”

Makoto looks up. “Huh?”

He’s still mad, but that pitiful expression…

“I’ll let you make it up to me,” Haru decides, only the words come out a lot weirder than they first sounded in his head.

Makoto’s cheeks turn pink, but his mood brightens. “Ah… of course, Haru! I’ll have my mom cook you something special. Or you can copy my notes for next week? Or maybe we can go to the store and I can buy you a new swim—”

Haru cuts him off. “No, not that.”

Makoto blinks confusedly at him, and Haru has to muster up enough courage to form his next words, while simultaneously trying to keep his whole body from feeling hot all over, the latter of which he fails at. Miserably.

“I’ll just have to… return the favor.”


	6. Trespassing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru and Makoto try and sneak into the local fitness center’s pool, at the risk of getting caught.

“We’re not supposed to be here! We’ll get into trouble!” Makoto hisses in a whisper, reaching out to pull Haru back. The fabric of Haru’s shirt slips through his fingers before he can get a good enough grip.

Haru’s voice echoes back at him, just as quiet, but with a different kind of urgency, “I just was to test it.”

“Test what?”

But Makoto already knows.

“The water.”

Of course the water…

Makoto doesn’t say a word as they round the corner, the heath club’s pool coming into view beyond the door’s glass windows. They could smell it before they even entered the hall; wet and chlorinated.

They’d planned on joining up this year, getting a real membership. They’d been planning it with the others for a few months now. But Haruka just couldn’t wait that long.

In the semi-darkness, Makoto could hear the rustling of fabric, and Haru’s muffled voice. “It won’t take long. I just want to try it out.”

It’s an excuse. The water’s the same in every pool. The vessel doesn’t matter to Haru, Makoto has realized this over the years, it’s the water itself that holds him enrapture.

But just as Haru opens the door, the under-lit water moving strange patters across the ceiling, a flashlight sweeps over the far side of the room.

The night guard.

Haru turns on his heel, shirt hanging off one arm. At first glance he looks calm, but his eyes are wide. “Run.”

They take off down the way they came, their loud steps echoing back after them.

Makoto can feel his heart pounding up into his throat, his natural flight response surging through his body. He’s not much of a sprinter; he’ll loose the adrenaline-soaked burst of speed. He makes it half way down the hall before Haru’s hand closes around his arm and yanks him sideways.

A surprised ’Haru!’ gets stuck in Makoto’s throat as they stumble together into a recessed entryway, probably to one of the sports rooms. One side, the way they came from, is blocked by a vending machine; they shrink into its shadow.

“What are you doing?!” Makoto hisses, clearly alarmed, but Haru only steps closer, pressing Makoto into the wall, reaching up to clamp a hand over Makoto’s mouth.

In the next second the security guard rounds the corner. He’s an old man, hobbling from the direction of the pool, yanking up his trousers as he goes.

Makoto inhales a sharp breath of fear—fear of getting caught, of getting in trouble—but he suddenly feels Haru’s other hand on his chest. Solid. Warm. Makoto stills.

“Stupid kids!” The man mutters to himself as he rushes past, as quickly as he age allows, flashlight bobbing as he takes the next left down the hall.

They hear his footsteps fade down the next corridor, through the double doors, and into the adjacent building.

They’re silent for a solid minute before Haru’s hand falls from its seal over Makoto’s mouth. He lets out a soft breath of relief

“That was close…”

Makoto can feel sweat on his brow, warmth where Haru is standing in contact with him, and his still-racing heartbeat. “Close–?!”

At that moment Haruka looks up, blue eyes wide and shining. “Yeah,” he says.

Makoto swallows thickly. Haru’s hand is still on his chest, he can feel it through his shit. He clutches Haru’s fingers with his own and brings them down.

“That was crazy, Haru,” Makoto says finally, after catching his breath. He tries to sound admonishing but there’s this odd feeling of elation coursing through his veins. Haru feels it too; that’s why his eyes look like he’s found a nice cool bath to plunge into.

Haru’s gaze flits down and back up, and for a moment, Makoto could have sworn he was staring at his mouth.

“Haru…”

“Hn?”

They’ve both gone quiet again.

Soft fingers curl around Makoto’s and Haru glances sideways, as if he’s suddenly embarrassed. “Are you… okay?”

About running from the guard?

Or about… this?

Either way–

Makoto gives a little nod, voice pitching lower and rougher than he meant it to. “I think so.”

Haru takes a small step back, so their bodies part, but Makoto sees his cheeks are flushed. He swears he can still feel Haru’s body heat.

Eventually, Haru whispers, “Should we go?”

“I thought you wanted to see the pool.”

Haru shrugs, trying to make light of the situation. “Every pool’s the same.“ The fingers entwined with Makoto’s clench tighter. "It’s the water the counts.”

Makoto chuckles softly, peering out into the hall. “Looks like the coast is clear. Should we take our chances?”

Haru nods, not letting go as they slip out of the shadows.


	7. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If this doesn’t work,” he squeezed Makoto’s finger, “will we still be friends?”

“What if this doesn’t work?”

Makoto turned slightly on his side, glancing at Haru, who’s murmured words floated up from their position on the floor.

“What do you mean, Haru?”

Haruka blinked lazily, eyes gazing up into the rafters. They pair were laying shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm; it only took Makoto a tiny movement to link their pinkies.

“I mean,” Haru said, as if the light touch emboldened him, “if this doesn’t work,” he squeezed Makoto’s finger, “will we still be friends?”

A smile flitted across Makoto’s face, his eyes narrowing in a pleasant way, as if to gaze at Haruka in a different light. “You’re that worried?”

“No,” Haru said quickly. Maybe too quickly. “I just— I don’t want—”

I don’t want to loose anything…

Makoto picked up Haru’s hand from where it rested on the floor, splaying the fingers with his hand. Leaning up slightly, he kissed each fingertip, one by one. In the near-silence he could hear Haru’s breath hitch.

“I’ve always wanted to be by your side, Haru-chan.” Makoto spoke against Haru’s curled knuckles, his lips brushing over the skin. “Just because were something else now, doesn’t mean we’re not still friends. And if we stop being that something else, for whatever reason… I’ll still want to be with you. Whatever way I can.”

An embarrassed pout pulled at Haru’s lips, a blush spreading up his neck. He looked away, muttering, “Stupid. Don’t say that kind of stuff.”

“Sorry,” Makoto said with a light chuckle as he rolled onto his arm, leaning over to get a good look at the other boy’s face.

Haru huffed. “No you’re not.”

“Mmn.” Makoto leaned his head down, having only to whisper in their close proximity. “I guess your right. I can’t help myself. But Haru…” Haruka finally looked back. “You don’t need to worry, alright? We’ll be fine.”

“Promise?”

Makoto chuckled. “Yeah, I promise.”


End file.
